Strand treatment process and apparatus



Oct. 18,1966 R. K. STANLEY ETAL 3,279,025

I STRAND TREATMENT PROCESS AND APPARATUS Filed Oct. 2, 1964 6 0 Wk 2 n F A, I I, 5., z u 4 a w a, 1 W S H w 6" n v INVENTORS. 7 ROBERT K.STANLEY MALCOLM F. IRWiN United States Patent 3,279,025 STRAND TREATMENT PROCESS AND APPARATUS Robert K. Stanley, Media, and Malcolm F. Irwin, Philadelphia, Pa., assignors to Techniservice Corporation,

Lester, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed Oct. 2, 1964, Ser. No. 401,160

19 Claims. (Cl. 28-1) This invention relates to treatment of textile strands, particularly by compressive crimping thereof, as in a stuffer crimper.

It is a conventional to crimp a textile strand compressively by feeding it by and between a pair of nip rolls into the entrance of a temporarily confining region, the exit of which is closed wholly or partially by suitable means so that the strand accumulates therein under pressure and forces the entering strand to buckle into a modified zigzag or sawtooth crimped configuration. The construction is such that the strand accumulation eventually moves the closure means sufiiciently to escape from the confinement, whereupon the crimped strand may be wound up. Alternatively, the strand may be withdrawn lengthwise from the accumulation and slid past the closure means, but that tends to alter the crimp non-uniformly or to remove it and is, therefore, undesirable. Depending upon structure and dependability of operation, the various types of closure means, and even the individual members of a single type vary widely from one another, as does their effect upon the strand being crimped.

A primary object of the present invention is enhanced uniformity in compressive crimping of a textile strand.

Another object is simplification in structure of stuifercrimping apparatus.

A further object is provision of improved stulfercrimped textile strands, including dyed as well as undyed strands.

Other objects of this invention, together with means and methods for attaining the various objects, will be apparent from the following description and the accompanying diagrams.

FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of the processing of a textile strand according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a front elevation, partly cut away, of apparatus of this invention in further detail, with strand shown passing therethrough;

FIG. 3 is a side elevation of the apparatus and strand of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a plan of the apparatus of FIGS. 2 and 3, with the strand omitted for clarity; and

FIG. 5 is a plan, partly cut away to show the interior, of component apparatus taken at VV on FIG. 4.

In general, the objects of the present invention are accomplished, in compressive crimping of a textile strand, by feeding the strand continuously into a laterally confining region to accumulate temporarily therein and forcing the strand accumulation therein toward the exit therefrom by additional strand fed thereagainst at the entrance to the region, the strand accumulation being unconfined ahead thereof and at the exit from the region. The invention comprehends specific means for accomplishing this, as hereinafter described.

FIG. 1 shows, schematically, strand unwinding from conical package 11 to pass through guide 12 and successive pairs of rolls 13, 13' and 15, 15, with heater 14 for the strand intervening between the respective pairs of rolls. Pair of nip rolls 17, 17 for feeding the strand into chamber 18, part of the length of which is omitted from the view to conserve space of illustration, follow after strand-traversing means 16. Crimped strand 10' is wound up from the exit of the chamber onto cylindrical package 20 by grooved traversing drive roll 19.

FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 show stuffer-crimping components and associated elements (FIGS. 2 and 3 only) of the same apparatus in front and side elevation and plan, respectively. Part of chamber 18 is cut away in FIG. 2 to reveal crimped strand 10 and accumulation thereof in bore 28 of the chamber, which is shown in the shape of a square cylinder. As in FIG. 1 the chamber in the elevational views of FIGS. 2 and 3 is broken away in vertical extent to conserve space in the drawing. Strand 10 after passing between nip rolls 15, 15' passes through strand-traversing means 16, which is slotted to receive it (as shown in FIG. 5) and into the nip of feed rolls 17, 17'. The latter rolls feed or stuff the strand into the entrance to the bore of the chamber, the front and rear walls of the chamber overlapping the front and rear faces of the rolls as far as the nip so as to ensure that all the strand enters the chamber. As the strand accumulates in the chamber the entering strand meets with resistance provided by the previously accumulated strand and buckles back and forth upon itself into a modified sawtooth or zigzag configuration or crimp. As more strand is fed continuously into the chamber the strand accumulation is forced along through the bore toward the exit therefrom.

The exit end of the chamber bore, located at the same level as the entrance in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 and at a level vertically above the level of the entrance in the embodiment (which may be otherwise the same) shown in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4, is unobstructed, as is the rest of the bore. Crimped strand 10' is withdrawn from strand accumulation 100 inside and is wound up onto bobbin or like package 20, which is rotated by contact with the surface of rotating drive roll 19. The drive roll is'grooved helically from end to end, the groove reversing direction at each end, and thereby is adapted to transverse the strand passing over it and through the groove on its way to the package. The drive means for the self-traversing drive roll is conventional and, therefore, not shown. The-same is true of drive means for the other rolls (some of which may not be driven at all), but the drive means for the feed rolls of the stufier-crimper is shown in some detail to aid understanding thereof.

Chamber 18, into which the strand is stuffed and in which it assumes crimped configuration, is supported on the front wall of frame 22, which has an inverted U-shape in side elevation. Shafts 27, 27' for respective feed rolls 17, 17 are journaled in the front and rear walls of the frame and have inter-meshing gears 37, 37' thereon behind the rear wall of the frame. Shaft 27 also has pulley 29 thereon. Motor 31 on the horizontal upper surface of the frame has shaft 32 on which is pulley 33. Belt 34 interconnects pulleys 33 and 29 to transmit rotational force to the gears, shafts, and the feed rolls themselves. The direction of rotation is such as to feed or stuff the strand by and between the counter-rotating feed rolls into the entrance of the chamber.

Strand-traversing means 16, through which strand 10 passes before entering the nip of feed rolls 17, 17, is a device for vibrating the strand back and forth along the roll nip, as is desirable to assure distribution thereof transversely of chamber 18 in which it accumulates in crimped configuration. The strand-traversing means, which appears in plan (partly in section) in FIG. 5, comprises housing 41, with aligned pair of slots 42 through its top and bottom walls near one side wall and in line with the strand path between the nip of rolls '15, 15 and the center of the nip of feed rolls 17, 17'. Strand 10 is shown in solid lines centered in the slot, and in broken lines at two extreme positions nearer but not touching the ends of the slot, representing the extreme positions between which it vibrates about the center position. Extending from the top wall to the bottom wall of the housing on the opposite sides of the pair of slots from the nearby end wall is post 43. Extending from the far end wall to the post and from the top to the bottom walls and attached to each by flexible margin 45 is diaphragm 44, which is parallel to the side walls and divides the major part of the housing into two compartments intercommunicating only by way of the minor part or passageway between the post and the near end wall. Solenoid 46, which has armature 47 attached to diaphragm 44, vibrates the diaphragm at a suitable frequency, pulsing air back and forth between the two compartment past the strand traveling through the slotted minor part of the housing and vibrating it; the slots are sufiiciently smaller in area than the passageway provided by that minor portion that only a small fraction of the moving air passes through the slots. As it vibrates, the strand travels back and forth along the nip of the feed rolls at the frequency of vibration, which may be the usual power frequency of fifty or sixty cycles per second or any other suitable frequency. At rates of travel of the strand at a thousand yards or meters per minute or somewhat more, about a yard or meter of the strand will travel past the strand-traversing means during each half cycle, all without touching any part of the strand-traversing means at any time.

When the apparatus of this invention is being started up, it is desirable to insert a rod or the like in the open end of chamber 18 to compress the first bit of strand being fed therein until a wad of crirnped strand has accumulated, after which the accumulated strand may be allowed to be forced further in the chamber from the entering end, accumulating additional strand in cn'mped configuration behind it. Contrary to prior practice, no added means is employed to apply crimping back pressure to the strand during operation of the apparatus of this invention. Despite the lack of physical obstruction of the chamber the apparatus may be operated with the chamber in any desired orientation: e.g., horizontal as in FIG. 1, upright as in succeeding views, or at any intermediate angle, and even inverted (not shown).

As described, the strand is wound up from the accumulation in the chamber at a rate suflicient to keep it at some distance from the end of the chamber. Suitable means and methods for synchronizing windup and feed rates for such purpose are well known in the art and, thus, are not described here.

Strand crimped according to the present invention is free of undesirable irregularities attributable to uneven application of back-pressure by devices such as have been used in conventional stutter-crimping apparatus or to uneven application of heat to the strand therein. Heater 14 heats the strand to desirable crimping temperature (e.g., 150350 F.), and the stufiing chamber may be heated (as by a heating jacket or by resistance coils in the chamber wall-neither shown) to preclude cooling or excessive cooling of the strand in the chamber, although it normally will be at an appreciably lower temperature at the exit (e.g., about 120 F.) than at the entrance of the chamber. Any suitable means may be used to preheat the strand, such as hot rolls, a heated chamber, etc. instead of the illustrated bar type of heater. The actual heater temperature will depend upon the degree of lubrication (if any) and rate of travel of the strand (1000-2000 yards or meters per minute is preferred) as well as upon the strand composition and denier, the chamber composition, and the method of heating (conduction, convection, radiation, etc.) The stufiing chamber and other apparatus elements may be made of steel or other durable material. If desired, the inside wall of the chamber may be coated (e.g., with tetrafluoroethylene) to reduce the coefficient of friction, in which event the chamber should be lengthened accordingly. A chamber length of about a yard or meter (inner Width about inch for use with strands of about 100 denier) has proved suitable for nylon and other textile strand materials.

Although a preferred embodiment of this invention has been illustrated and described, by way of example, modifications may be made therein while retaining all or some of the advantages and benefits of the invention. Parts may be added, combined, rearranged, or subdivided and equivalents be substituted without departing from the invention as defined in the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In stuffer-crimping of a textile strand, the improvement comprising feeding the strand continuously into a laterally confining region having an entrance and an exit to accumulate temporarily therein and forcing the strand accumulation therein toward the exit by additional strand fed thereagainst at the entrance to the region, the strand accumulation being unconfined ahead thereof and at the exit from the region,

2. In stutter-crimping of a textile strand, the improve ment comprising feeding the strand continuously into the entrance of a laterally confining generally cylindrical region having an unimpeded exit therefrom to accumulate temporarily therein and forcing the strand accumulation therethrough by feeding additional strand thereinto and into contact with the strand accumulation.

3. In stulfer-crimping of a textile strand, the improvement comprising feeding the strand continuously into the bottom of a laterally confining region to accumulate temporarily therein and forcing the strand accumulation upwardly therethrough, the strand accumulation being unconfined overhead.

4. In stulfer-crimping of a textile strand, the improvement comprising heating the strand, feeding the strand continuously into a laterally confining region to accumulate temporarily therein and forcing the strand accumulation therethrough by contact with additional strand fed in thereafter, the strand accumulation being unconfined ahead thereof and being maintained at elevated temperature without further heat absorption in the region.

5. In stutter-crimping of a textile strand, the improvement comprising feeding the strand continuously into a laterally confining region to accumulate temporarily therein, utilizing friction of lateral confinement of the strand accumulation therein to apply crimping back-pressure to the strand being fed into the region, the strand accumula-. tion being unconfined ahead thereof, and removing strand therefrom by winding it up from the leading edge of the strand accumulation at a rate efiective to maintain the top of the strand accumulation at a substantially constant evel.

6. In stuffer-crirnping of a textile strand, the improve-.

ment comprising feeding the strand continuously at a first rate into a laterally confining region to accumulate temporarily therein, utilizing the Weight of the strand accumulation therein to apply crimping back-pressure to the strand being fed into the region, thestrand accumulation being unconfined ahead thereof, winding it up at a second rate from the leading edge of the strand accumulation, the second rate being less than the first rate and related thereto in a predetermined manner.

7. In stutter-crimping of a textile strand, the improvement comprising feeding the strand continuously at a rate of at least a thousand yards per minute into a laterally confining region to accumulate temporarily therein and to apply crimping back-pressure to the strand being fed into the region, the strand accumulation being unconfined ahead thereof and removing strand therefrom by winding it up at a rate on the order of about one-sixth less than the feed rate.

8. In stutter-crimping of a textile strand, the improvement comprising feeding the strand continuously at a rate of at least a thousand yards per minute into a laterally confining region having an unimpeded exit therefrom and simultaneously traversing the entering strand from side to side thereof at a rate such that about a yard of strand is fed into the confining region throughout each traverse period.

9. In treatment of a textile strand, the steps of feeding it continuously into a confining region to accumulate temporarily and be stuffer-crimped therein, confining the strand accumulation only laterally in the region and forcing it therethrough as further strand is fed into the region and into contact therewith, and removing strand therefrom by winding it up at the end of the region from the leading edge of the strand accumulation, which is otherwise unconfined.

10. In treatment of a textile strand to crimp it, the improvement comprising feeding it continuously into a laterally confining region having an entrance and an exit, accumulating the strand temporarily in the region, the strand accumulation being forced therethrough by further strand fed thereagainst at the entrance to the region, the leading edge of the strand accumulation being unconfined ahead thereof, and removing strand therefrom by winding it up from the leading edge of the strand accumulation at the exit from the region.

11. In treatment of a textile strand to crimp it, the improvement comprising feeding it continuously into the bottom of a laterally confining region, accumulating the strand temporarily in the region, the strand accumulation rising and resting on the further strand fed thereunder into the bottom of the region, the top of the strand accumulation being unconfined overhead, and removing strand therefrom by winding it up from the top of the strand accumulation.

12. In treatment of a textile strand to crimp it, the improvement comprising heating it, then feeding it continuously into the bottom of a laterally confining region, the strand accumulating temporarily in the region, and being free of further heating therein, the strand accumulation rising and resting on the further strand fed thereunder into the bottom of the region, the top of the strand accumulation being unconfined overhead, and removing strand therefrom by winding it up from the top of the strand accumulation.

13. In apparatus for stutter-crimping a textile strand, a confining chamber having a bore therethrough open at both ends, a pair of nip rolls juxtaposed to one end of the chamber bore and adapted to feed strand into the chamber bore to accumulate temporarily therein, the apparatus being free of any closure member in or at the opposite end of the chamber bore.

14. In apparatus for stutter-crimping a textile strand, an upright confining chamber having a cylindrical bore therethrough open at both ends, a pair of nip rolls juxtaposed to the lower end of the chamber bore and adapted to feed strand upward into the chamber to accumulate temporarily therein under its own weight, the top end of the chamber bore being free of any closure member and the bore itself being free of any impeding member.

15. In apparatus for stutter-crimping a textile strand, an upright cylindrical confining chamber having a vertical bore therethrough open at both ends, a pair of nip rolls juxtaposed to the lower end of the chamber bore and adapted to feed strand upward into the chamber to accumulate temporarily therein under its own weight,

the top end and all intermediate parts of the chamber bore being free' of closure and other impeding members, and means for withdrawing strand from the open top end of the chamber bore by winding it up from the top of the strand accumulation exposed therein.

16. In apparatus for stu'ffer-crimping a textile strand, an upright cylindrical confining chamber having a vertical bore therethrough open at both ends, a pair of nip rolls juxtaposed to the lower end of the chamber bore and adapted to feed strand upward into the chamber at a given rate to accumulate temporarily the-rein, means for rotating the nip rolls to feed strand upward into the bottom of the chamber and thereby forcing the overlying strand accumulation upward under its own weight, and means for withdrawing strand from the open top end of the chamber bore by winding it up from the top of the strand accumulation at a lower rate than the rate at which the strand is fed into the lower end of the chamber bore.

17. In apparatus for stutter-crimping a textile strand, a confining chamber having a bore therethrough open at both ends, a pair of nip rolls juxtaposed to one end of the chamber bore and adapted to feed strand thereinto, and electromechanical vibrating means adjacent the opposite side of the feed rolls from the chamber for traversing the strand back and forth along the roll nip as it passes therethrough and thereby traversing the entering strand from side to side of the chamber bore.

18. In apparatus for stutter-crimping a textile strand, a confining chamber having a cylindrical bore therethrough open at both ends, a pair of nip rolls juxtaposed to one end of the chamber bore and adapted to feed strand thereinto, and an electromechanical vibrator adjacent the opposite side of the feed rolls from the chamber for traversing the strand back and forth along the roll nip as it passes therethrough and thereby traversing the entering strand from side to side of the chamber bore 19. In apparatus for stufier-crimping a textile strand, a cylindrical confining chamber bore open at both ends, a pair of nip rolls juxtaposed to one end of the chamber and adapted to feed strand into the chamber, and a housing having openings at opposite ends, one end thereof being adjacent the opposite side of the feed rolls from the chamber bore, the housing containing means for pulsing the air therein adjacent the strand transversely in alternate directions along the roll nip and thereby vibrating the strand as it passes therethrough and thus traversing the entering strand from side to side of the chamber bore.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,000,060 9/1961 Shattuck et a1. 28-72 3,111,740 11/1963 Stanley 28-1 3,114,958 12/ 1963 Pavek et al 28-1 FOREIGN PATENTS 65,531 10/ 1955 France. 448,964 5/ 1949 Italy.

MERVIN STEIN, Primary Examiner.

L. K. RIMRODT, Assistant Examiner. 

13. IN APPARATUS FOR STUFFER-CRIMPING A TEXTILE STRAND, A CONFINING CHAMBER HAVING A BORE THERETHROUGH OPEN AT BOTH ENDS, A PAIR OF NIP ROLLS JUXTAPOSED TO ONE END OF THE CHAMBER BORE AND ADAPTED TO FEED STRAND INTO THE CHAMBER BORE TO ACCUMULATE TEMPORARILY THEREIN, THE APPARATUS BEING FREE OF ANY CLOSURE MEMBER IN OR AT THE OPPOSITE END OF THE CHAMBER BORE. 